Lao passport holders must have an ETA before travelling to Colombo, a journey that almost always runs through Bangkok. The tourist ETA gives 30 days and two entries, and Laos pays the standard government rate.
30 days
Stay on a tourist ETA
Double
Entries permitted
6 months
Passport validity needed
3 options
Tourist, Business, Transit
100% online
No embassy visit
Important for Lao citizens
Laos is not covered by Sri Lanka's waiver of the tourist ETA government charge. The standard rate applies to Lao passports; the live prices shown on this page are kept up to date.
Overview
For travellers from a landlocked country, Sri Lanka offers something Laos cannot: an ocean on every side. It also offers something deeply familiar. The saffron robes, the full-moon observances and the reverence for relics that shape life in Luang Prabang and Vientiane are part of daily life in Kandy and Anuradhapura too.
Only a small number of Lao citizens make the trip each year, mostly pilgrims, officials, students and a growing group of young professionals from Vientiane. Every one of them needs an Electronic Travel Authorisation, which people often call a Sri Lanka visa or e-visa. It is requested online and has to be approved before departure.
Laos is not among the nationalities whose government charge has been waived, so the standard rate is payable. Because so little is published for Lao travellers, this page goes through the practical details carefully, from romanised names to the connection in Bangkok.
At a glance
Eligibility
Yes. A Lao ordinary passport gives visa-free entry to fellow ASEAN members, but Sri Lanka is not one of them, and every Lao visitor must hold an ETA. It should be approved before you leave Wattay airport, since the airline carrying you from Bangkok to Colombo will want to see it.
Most Lao travellers qualify for the tourist option. It is meant for holidays, for visiting the Temple of the Tooth and other sacred places, for seeing friends or relatives, for Ayurveda treatment and for attending cultural or sporting events.
Government officers, staff of state enterprises and private traders visiting for meetings, a seminar or a workshop need the business option. Lao citizens holding diplomatic or official passports should confirm with their own ministry which arrangements apply to them, as this page deals with ordinary passports only.
Parents include their children in the application as separate travellers. For those aged under 12 the Sri Lankan government fee is not charged, whatever the nationality. A Lao student already living in Thailand, China or Vietnam applies in exactly the same way, because the passport and not the place of residence determines the terms.
Stay & validity
Lao tourists may stay in Sri Lanka for 30 days, beginning on the day they first arrive, and the authorisation permits two entries. For a first visit, ten days is enough to see Kandy, the ancient cities and a stretch of coast.
The two entries share one allowance. Someone from Vientiane who lands on 2 November, spends a week on the island, visits the Maldives and returns on the 14th continues on the original count. To remain past the permitted date you would have to apply for an extension at the Department of Immigration and Emigration in Battaramulla.
You can travel at any point in the six months after the ETA is issued. Check your passport before applying: Sri Lanka asks for six months of validity on arrival, and a Lao passport renewed afterwards will carry a new number that the approved ETA does not match.
Pricing
Live fees for Lao passport holders, shown all-in — any government charge that applies to your passport and our service fee together, with nothing added later.
Your nationality is pre-selected as Laos
Requirements
Everything Lao passport holders need before starting an application. The first five items apply to every applicant; the rest are specific to your nationality.
Passport valid for at least six months from the date you arrive in Sri Lanka — the same passport you will travel on
A clear image of the passport bio-data page, with every corner visible and no glare over the photograph
A working email address, which is where the approval is sent and which you should be able to open while travelling
A credit or debit card for online payment
Your intended arrival date and an address in Sri Lanka, such as your first hotel
Simple process
Four steps, entirely online, with one form per traveller and a full review before you pay.
Pick the Tourist, Business or Transit option that matches the real purpose of your trip, and add every traveller in your party to the same application.
Give each traveller's details exactly as printed on the passport, plus the intended arrival date and an address in Sri Lanka. Entries are made in English.
Check every name, date and passport number on the review screen before paying. Corrections are simple at this stage and difficult afterwards.
The approval is linked electronically to your passport number. Keep a copy on your phone and a printout with your travel documents for check-in and arrival.
Lao applications are ordinarily approved in a day or two, but no particular time can be promised. Aim to apply three to five days ahead as a minimum. Given that the trip already involves two flights, a full week of margin is more comfortable.
Pi Mai Lao in mid-April brings the country to a standstill for several days, and banks are closed. If you intend to travel at that time, complete the application before the holiday begins. The same advice applies in the days around the That Luang Festival in November.
Vientiane keeps the same time as Bangkok, one and a half hours ahead of Sri Lanka. Print the approval before you leave home. If you are connecting between separate tickets in Bangkok you will be checking in again there, and the desk will ask for the ETA along with your passport.
On arrival
An approved ETA gets you on the plane. This is what happens once you land, and how to make the arrival as quick as possible.
Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake, about 30 kilometres north of Colombo, handles nearly all international arrivals. Follow the signs to immigration and join the foreign passport queue.
The officer retrieves your ETA from the passport number. Have the approval email to hand as a backup, on paper or saved offline, since airport connectivity is not guaranteed.
You may be asked where you are staying, how long for and when you leave. A hotel confirmation and your return ticket answer all three in a few seconds.
Your passport is endorsed with the date you must leave by. Read it at the counter — that date, not the length of your booking, is what counts if your plans change.
Getting there
Travel from Laos to Sri Lanka runs through Bangkok. Flights from Vientiane and Luang Prabang reach the Thai capital in about an hour, and several airlines fly on to Colombo from there. Some travellers from Vientiane cross the Friendship Bridge and begin from Udon Thani to save money.
Best time to go
The Lao cool season from November to February coincides with good weather on Sri Lanka's west and south coasts. December and January are ideal for a first experience of the sea at Bentota, Unawatuna or Mirissa, and the hill country is clear. Nights in Nuwara Eliya can feel as cold as Phongsali in winter.
Lao New Year shares its dates with the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in mid-April. There is no water-throwing in Sri Lanka, but families gather, oil lamps are lit and special sweets are prepared at set auspicious times. Expect heat and limited public transport on the main days.
During the Lao rainy season and school holiday, from June to August, the place to be in Sri Lanka is the east coast near Trincomalee and Pasikudah. The south-west is wet at that time. In July or August, Kandy's Esala Perahera honours the Tooth Relic over ten nights.
Boun Ok Phansa in October falls in Sri Lanka's inter-monsoon weeks, with showers in the afternoons. It is nevertheless a peaceful time for the ancient capitals. Every full moon is a Poya holiday on the island, a day for temple visits when alcohol is not sold.
Avoid these
Problems are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the ones that come up most often on applications from Laos — worth a minute now rather than a new application later.
Lao names are written in Roman letters in more than one way: Sisavath or Xaysavath, Phonesavanh or Phonsavan. The ETA has to carry the version on your passport, even if you prefer a simpler one. A single differing letter is treated as a different name.
Many Lao family names join several elements into one long word. Adding a space in the middle, or moving part of it to the given-name field because it does not fit, alters the name. Type it continuously and count the letters against the photo page.
Not every Lao bank card works for purchases on foreign websites, and activating one may require a visit to the branch. Travellers who find this out during Pi Mai or on a weekend lose days. Test the card or arrange an alternative in advance.
On a separate-ticket itinerary, the first airline only takes you as far as Thailand and has no interest in your Sri Lankan paperwork. The second one does. Keep the printed approval in your hand luggage, not in a checked bag you cannot reach.
Passport number mistyped
The authorisation attaches to the number you enter. One wrong character produces an ETA that does not match the passport handed over at the counter, and a paid application cannot be edited afterwards.
Passport with under six months left
Sri Lanka expects six months of validity counted from the day you arrive, not the day you apply. A passport that falls short is refused at check-in regardless of the ETA.
The wrong ETA type
Attending meetings or a conference on a tourist ETA is outside its conditions. Choose the option that matches what you will actually do in the country.
Conditions
These conditions are set by Sri Lanka's Department of Immigration and Emigration and do not vary by nationality.
Sri Lanka requires an Electronic Travel Authorisation for short visits by all foreign nationals, and it should be approved before you travel. Even where the government charge is waived, the authorisation itself is still required.
The authorisation is recorded against the passport number you enter. If that passport is lost, replaced or renewed before you travel, the ETA does not move across and a new application is needed.
A tourist ETA allows two entries. The stay period runs from your first arrival, so a second entry is granted only the balance of that period rather than a fresh allowance.
A tourist ETA covers holidays, family visits, medical treatment and cultural or sporting events. Business meetings, conferences and short training need the business option, and a stopover of up to two days uses the transit option.
Immigration officers at the port of entry may ask for a confirmed return or onward ticket and evidence that you can support yourself for the length of your stay.
An approved ETA lets you travel to Sri Lanka. The decision to admit you is made by an immigration officer on arrival, and the conditions printed on your approval govern your stay.
Consular services
There is no Sri Lankan embassy in Vientiane, and the Lao PDR is handled by the embassy in Bangkok. For an ETA this makes no difference. Lao applicants submit their details online and receive the result by email, with no visit to Thailand required for the application.
FAQs
The questions Lao passport holders ask most often about travelling to Sri Lanka.
Yes, Lao citizens need an Electronic Travel Authorisation before they travel, which serves as the Sri Lanka visa for short visits. A tourist ETA allows 30 days in the country and two entries. Lao passports are charged the standard government rate.
Yes. The whole application is online, so you do not need to travel to Bangkok, where the nearest Sri Lankan embassy is located. You need your passport, an email address and a card that can make international online payments.
Fly to Bangkok and change there for Colombo. The first flight takes around an hour and the second a little over three. With waiting time, plan for six to eight hours door to door.
For 30 days from the first arrival. You may leave and return once more in that time, but the total does not increase. A longer stay needs an extension approved in Sri Lanka.
Use the spelling in your passport and no other. Copy it from the photo page one letter at a time, keeping any X, PH or double vowels exactly as shown. Do not shorten a long surname.
No. Laos is not on the list of 40 countries that benefit from the waiver. The standard government rate applies to adults and to children aged 12 and over. Younger children are not charged the government fee.
Yes, a Lao citizen in Thailand can apply online from there. The conditions are those for Lao nationals, since they depend on your passport. Remember to carry any Thai work or stay permit you need for re-entering Thailand afterwards.
At least three to five days before the flight, and earlier before Pi Mai Lao or other long holidays. Most approvals come within a day or two. Applying early costs nothing, because the approval can be used for six months.
Your nationality is already set to Laos. Complete the form in around ten minutes, review every detail, and receive your ETA by email.
Other nationalities
Charges, routes and the practical details differ by passport. Here are the guides for other nationalities.
